What are the best camera angles and movements to use in your storyboards?

Story Boards – The Visual Storytelling , Here Planning Of Shots And Angles Help Convey Emotions, Perspectives, And Narratives. They Guide Our Audience’s Understanding Of Characters, Settings, And The Story’s Progression. Each Angle And Shot Has Its Emotional Impact. A Low Angle Might Evoke Power Or Intimidation, While A High Angle Might Portray Vulnerability. These Choices You Make Will Contribute To The Overall Mood Of A Scene. Specific Angles And Shots Can Also Reveal Aspects Of A Character’s Personality Or Emotional State .

Consider the emotion you want your target audience to experience. What's the tone? Do you need to show everything, or make the audience work a little to meet you half-way, making them feel more connected to your material?

With video, you have the opportunity to tell stories from the perspective of the camera lens as opposed to your eyes. Shoot angles that are not always eye-level to emphasize an emotion, ie a dutch angle (the camera is tilted). I love moving the camera through foreground elements like people or walls to reveal more of the space instead of just static. Think about how you block your subjects. Those closer to the foreground will be more prominent and gives them power/weight in the shot. You can also rack focus from the foreground subject to the background to shift the viewer's attention when appropriate. I love Photoshop's new generative AI for storyboarding. You can add custom elements to fit the shots you imagine.

Always be purposeful. Whatever you are trying to communicate needs to have a purpose in mind. If you want to establish the setting of a scene, using wide angle shots with slight panning or zooming can be effective. If you’d like to demonstrate communication between characters, using medium shots or over the shoulder while keeping in mind the rule of 180 is vital. Likewise, if you want to communicate timidness, it would be advisable to use top angle shots. Whereas if you’d like to show a strong and intimidating character, using lower angle shots are most effective. Birds Eye and worms angle shots are also creative and dynamic if it suits the purpose of communicating an intended message.

When considering camera angles for storyboards, the variety of shots you choose plays a crucial role in conveying the narrative. Each type of shot, from wide shots to close-ups, serves a specific purpose in visual storytelling. A wide shot can establish the setting and context, providing a broader view of the scene. On the other hand, a medium shot captures interactions and relationships between characters, adding depth to the storytelling. Close-ups, whether extreme or standard, reveal intricate details and convey the emotions of characters or objects. Exploring different shot variations, such as long shots, medium close-ups, over-the-shoulder shots, and point-of-view shots, adds dynamism and engagement to your visuals.

Rompamos las reglas académicas y encontremos la originalidad creativa. La semántica audiovisual no es una lengua muerta, es un lenguaje vivo y en contínua transformación.

Changing from one angle to another is a good and simple way to add visual interest to your video: - High angle (subject seems vulnerable, powerless, weak) - Low angle (subject looks strong and powerful) - Over the Shoulder (for conversation between two people) - Bird’s Eye (provide context; people use drones for this but you can get creative) - Tilt/Dutch angle (dramatic/emotional/creative effect)

perspective and angles are an interesting one. Again I'd only storyboard these if it were a tricky sequence that's hard to communicate otherwise. It's all about communication in the end! If you wanted a shot of a driver in a moving vehicle that then craned up to show a car chasing behind and rapidly gaining speed which then bumped into the back of the car etc - you'd end up with the key story pictures and from that, work out if you can afford it! Dutch angles/ wide angles etc all good - know why you want them, if they really do enhance your story. Try to remember that on the day things change, and don't get locked into the 'comic book' element of storyboards. Know when to be flexible and when not.

Consider the perspective and angle of your shots when choosing camera angles for storyboards. Perspective, denoting the camera's position and distance from the subject, and angle, representing the direction and tilt of the camera, profoundly influence audience perception, mood, and overall impact. A low-angle shot imparts power and dominance to a character, while a high-angle shot evokes vulnerability. A dutch angle introduces tension and instability, and a bird's eye view offers detachment and an overview. Leverage these perspectives and angles strategically to enhance storytelling, using AI-assisted storyboard tools in 2023-24 for intuitive suggestions that optimize the visual impact of your narrative.

Perspectives and angles can influence the way you make your audience feels. It could either make or break your shots. Intention is also always important when considering these as you don’t want to stray away from the purpose. For perspective, it is also important to determine the horizon line and how high or low you want to position your subject in respect to staging within your shots. This helps to think of angles when considering how to move your camera in relation to the subject.

Know your lenses and make sure they translate into your storyboards! I can't tell you how often storyboards that don't represent the depth of field or angle of view for a shot.

Choosing camera angles and movements depends on the desired effect. Use wide shots for establishing scenes, close-ups for emotions, and angles like high or low shots to evoke specific feelings. Smooth movements can create a calm atmosphere, while abrupt ones add tension. Tailor choices to your story's mood and context.

I find that transitions are something to be careful when planning too much in advance to avoid being stuck with them in the editing room. It's better to have more flexibility in post-production where things might change significantly as you edit the film. I would also add that it's imperative to consider the whole sequence when planning camera movements and consider the budget necessary. Moving the camera is costly and time-consuming, depending on the movement, so keep your mind open and explore the different ways of achieving the same or similar effect.

Consider the movement and transitions of your shots when selecting camera angles for storyboards. Movement involves the camera's motion within a shot, while transitions denote changes from one shot to another. These elements infuse energy and rhythm into scenes, connecting and contrasting different shots. For instance, a tracking shot follows action, fostering continuity, while a zoom shot emphasizes or reveals crucial details, instilling surprise or curiosity. Cuts create direct transitions, and fades offer gradual shifts, indicating changes in time or place.

Coming from a musical background, where I started playing the drums at age 8, has greatly influenced my approach to filmmaking, particularly in understanding the rhythm and pacing of a film. The movement and transition of shots are akin to the rhythm and tempo of a music piece. The movement of the camera within a shot adds dynamism and energy. For instance, a tracking shot that follows a character or action creates continuity and immersion, much like a steady drumbeat providing a rhythmic foundation for a song. Transitions between shots can provide contrast or connection, similar to tempo changes in music.

The beauty of the storyboarding process is that it is a time to discover how the visuals will deliver subtext to your audience. For instance, let’s take a closeup angle. Positioning slightly above the actor will make them feel smaller and weaker. Positioning slightly lower will make them seem bigger and more sure. Using a 24mm wide angle as a CU will create an entirely different meaning than using a standard 50mm and much different than a 100mm. Use storyboards to visually work out your meaning. Books get to get into the mind of the characters. In film, that happens through camera, setting, colors, lighting. It all sets subtext.

As someone who’s worked mainly for animation projects, another helpful stage to consider after storyboarding is the pacing of these shots through an animatic. An animatic is a very rough draft version of what the final film would look like while using the storyboarded shots into a sequence that plays out with basic foley sounds and a soundtrack. I find this incredibly helpful as it not only gives you a sense of timing and pacing but also allows you to see what the shots would look like and whether or not they seem to be working for the intended purpose. The animatic also serves as a backbone to the audio department to work on foley and soundtrack while the film/animation departments work on the production of the film assets simultaneously.

Drawing from my experience as the CEO of GPI Films at The Orchard, a Sony Company, where visual storytelling is at the heart of our craft, I wholeheartedly concur with the importance of framing shots effectively. Crafting a narrative through cinematography involves a delicate balance of creativity/technical finesse, and your breakdown of shot framing speaks directly to that balance. In the realm of filmmaking, each frame is a canvas that conveys emotions, interactions, and the overall essence of the story. Close-ups, as you rightly point out, allow us to delve into the emotional state of our characters, capturing nuanced expressions that speak volumes. It's a powerful tool for connecting the audience with the intricacies of the narrative.

In my experience as 1st AD for several short films, I cannot express how helpful an animatic is for the entire crew on shoot day. The director and I shot a very quick animatic beforehand, which I cut together and labelled by scene. We used both the animatic and the labelled stills as our shot list. Our gaffer had such a smooth time getting the lighting right quickly, the DP knew all the camera movements to a T, and the talent had all the blocking specifics pre-communicated. It was an incredibly streamlined way for our director to cast vision to the rest of us. For smaller production companies, I would absolutely recommend taking the time to cut together an animatic, no matter how rough. It saved us significant time on shoot day.

Depending on the subject size in the frame, you can frame your shots in multiple ways: - Close-up (main character’s emotional state of mind) - Medium shot (body language of the main character and how she or he interacts with the environment - Long shot/Wide shot (used as an establishing shot in a video; do not abuse it, it will create a feeling of isolation and separate the viewer from your story) - Extreme Close-Up or Long shot (for emotional purposes, showing scale or details)